What to Know
- OATH Commissioner Fidel De Ville is under fire for allegations he verbally harassed and abused NYPD cops monitoring City Hall's West Gate
- De Ville allegedly berated the cops, dropping F-bombs, and threatened them with disciplinary action or job termination.
- The OATH Office had not been made aware of the allegations when NY 4 reached out to them, and had no comment
An NYPD police union is calling for the immediate sacking of a top city judge who allegedly went on an F-bomb laden tantrum when officers tried to check his identity outside City Hall.
In a letter sent Wednesday to Mayor Bill de Blasio, the president of the Patrolmen's Benevolent Association, Patrick J. Lynch, detailed a rude encounter a NYPD security detail said it had with NYC Office of Administrative Trials and Hearings Commissioner Fidel Del Valle.
He said Del Valle was trying to get into City Hall on Nov. 13 when he was stopped by cops assigned to security. When they tried to confirm his identity and the purpose of his identity, the commissioner flew into a rage, the letter states.
“Mr. Del Valle did not comply with the officers’ request for information or directions,” it said. “Instead, he immediately became confrontational, encroaching on the officers’ personal space, making aggressive gestures towards them and demanding ‘Who the f**k do you think you are?’”
The letter alleges the abuse continued from there. As the officers prevented from Mr. Del Valle from passing through the security booth, he continued to berate them, demanding to speak with a supervisor, and even threatening the cops with their jobs. When police told Del Valle to wait at the gate as their supervisor came over to the scene, his aggressive behavior increased, and he repeatedly identified himself as “commissioner” while calling the officers “f**king a**holes.” This continued until a City Council member arrived on the scene, recognized Del Valle and escorted him into City Hall, according to the letter.
“Mr. Del Valle’s language and behavior was outrageously inappropriate for any person interacting with a New York City police officer, much less the head of a City agency,” Lynch wrote in the letter.
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Lynch said he was alarmed at how Del Valle, who is also a chief judge at OATH, threatened tactics of disciplinary action or termination against the officers on the scene. “Mr. Del Valle has no direct or indirect authority over members of the NYPD,” Lynch said. “He clearly lacks the temperament and integrity to sit in judgment over any City employee.”
The letter asks Mayor de Blasio to take immediate action, arguing that if the incident is not addressed, a negative message that this kind of behavior is okay will be broadcast to those who live in the city.
A representative from the OATH press office told NBC 4 Friday that they had not received any news of these allegations, and could not comment. Del Valle did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
